Yoko on Japan’s Gender Gap

Yoko on Japan’s Gender Gap

I think Japan is really seen like
Japanese women are so oppressed. And we’re so behind
other developed countries. No, I mean, Japan is seen like that
based on what the media says. I’m living in Japan,
born and raised in Japan. So I don’t know that from
an outside perspective. I’m not sure if Japanese women
are really oppressed or not. Maybe they’re actually happy? One of my American
friends say that “Women should be independent.” It’s better they work and
make a living by themselves. And she said, “The more women work,” “the more gender equality.” “But Japan doesn’t
seem like that.” But some people
are not like that, right? Like #MeToo movement, that kind of feminist movement is getting common in Japan. Yeah, some people claim that as far as female politicians, it’s quite rare in Japan compared to
western countries. They say that’s
the problem. Because women don’t have the
power to decide a law or something. So we don’t necessarily have to
increase female politicians? But as far as laws about
abortion or sex crime something related to women Maybe women should have
more power to decide those things?


  • Nobita from Japan

    Some women might be upset at her opinion, but let’s be open-minded and not be too harsh on her. Everyone has a different view and that’s OK.
    Sorry if you couldn’t catch my English. I added English subs at my part (turn on CC), so I hope it’ll help you.

  • TheFormActually

    To be perfectly honest, I would hate If my wife would stay at home all the time , while I'm doing extra hours to earn money for both…. big yikes.

  • friendly hacker

    Fuck gender equality it's just a wrong idea to destroy the society they want women's to not be woman and man to not be man they want to create a new gender which is neither man not women

  • nico5179

    Everything taken from western feminists, liberalism and sjw mob is a recipe of failure. I hope Japan just continues to be Japanese with their amazing culture and tries to sort out the birth problem on their own. If anything they should straight out avoid imitating the degeneracy and self destruction of western societies ruled by these so called progressives aholes.

  • David

    Feminism is a disease, it leads to a high divorce rate, which leads to children being raised by one parent, typically by the female… and ultimately Liberalism. Dot not follow the west, protect your children from this sickness that is already infiltrating your society. It kills the family, all under the guise of equality and empowerment.

  • Travelling Gamer

    Of course I'm a foreigner but I do know that Asian culture is very different since I live there pretty half of the time.
    However Yoko is a bit on the far end of the spectrum as well. I don't feel any woman should be forced to work if she is happy as a housewife (which I consider as having a job too) BUT I know plenty of Japanese women that DO want to work and they do tell me that in Japan wages are unfair when it comes to being female.
    Also have women in the workforce also makes it less one-sided and might bring some refreshing new ideas to the table. If your company board of directors are only old men then bringing anyone different (be it women or young people) into the mix will be beneficial to form new ideas.

    Since I'm a foreigner I wouldn't want a partner that only wants to be a housewife, just my personal preference since I would find it will provide someone with more experiences throughout the day to talk about (besides having more money to spend) if the only thing we can talk about is family or friends she met every day it would feel boring to me. My mom always was a housewife and I find her less interesting to talk too than women that are working, now that might be in part that my mom might be a boring person but I feel her views are often quite limited while women that work somehow get more input from people around them etc.

  • saitama

    Asking someone who has no idea what the problem is, is kind of pointless. All she said is that she doesn't care about equality because she doesn't have to work and she's happy with that.
    The problem is some women want to work but can't because it's not perceived in a positive light and employers simply don't want to give jobs to women with young kids.

  • LittleMiss :o

    It’s not that women with children cannot work, but they cannot commit work as a priority. At least while children are babies and infants and that is how it should be.

  • Jacob Blanton

    The fact this video is started with a counterpoint view, and then followed up with a disclaimer, is kind of disheartening. Why do all these global reporters, feminists and foreigners get to spout their nonsense without disclaimers all the time?

    That alone should cause pause for thought, I feel.

    Also my comments keep getting deleted. You really just can't talk about certain things.

  • EdgyUserName XX

    Based Japan, Best Japan.

    Don't let a foreign ideology try to infect your culture and tell you that something is wrong with you!

  • Richard Johansson

    You don't have to care about the body and gender,I'm just a person ,I'm not a female, I want to be judged by that and not as a female.
    Then goes onto say I never see any female stating things that relieves me.

  • A man of culture

    The west should just keep their ideals away from the east. Different people, different culture, don’t push your damn ideals to others. In other words, mind your own damn business. Japan should stay as Japan.

  • Richard Johansson

    Nobita seems to want to champion women's rights make things equal, I see that type of man in the west. Appears the woman has some wisdom and intelligence. Good video ,Thanks Nobita.

  • Megumi Hayashida

    I hate the fact that every countries are almost forced to adopt the western standards, culture including their ideologies while pushing a certain agenda. The american society is not a model of success. Japan is not perfect either but for god's sake let Japan be Japan. Simple.

  • theREALmurtibing

    Yoko is married is because she is worth marrying. Would any man commit to marriage unless there was something valuable and attractive that made it worth it? Of course not. Yoko is a wonderful woman, her husband is a lucky guy. I hope they have a big family and help to "make Japan great again!"

  • David Fallaw

    The west needs to learn that if japan is happy this way, then let them stay that way. Don’t force western values / expectations on them. Let people be themselves!

  • Alex Roston

    Good thing you also show other opinions on your channel, but Yoko seems to misinterpret the standpoint of the other women a bit. She only sees what's covenient for her and how she behaves. I'm missing some empathy for other, weaker people in society here, which actually comes often from a conservative standpoint she also seem to stand for.

    And of course it's always less stressful when you just choose this one way the society provides for you and you don't have to think for yourself. But other women maybe like to work and want to do that, but then they face dicrimination from males or other women. It's not always a matter of "if YOU want to, YOU can do it" if there are other people who are not so open-minded.
    Same for the gender debate: It's not about whether she does not think genders exist, it's about the others who do have stereotypes for different genders.
    Of course you should always take the skills of each person into account instead of just hiring because of their gender. But this already happens quite often with males and this is what conservatives often neglet. If it would be all about skills in general, then the percentage of women in different jobs would naturally be higher, because it's not like "men are born politicians and women do not have the mental skills" to do so.

  • oscar

    Japanese birth rates dropped below survivable level when you legalised divorce/equal rights/status/the pill etc. just look at the graph.
    rip Japan 🙁

  • TheConspiracy Realist

    Yoko fails to realize that in other parts of the world it is almost impossible to live together without 2 incomes to make ends meet and have some extra leftover for vacations or fun.
    Working from home is the way the future will align with.
    Spoiled…. ? …. sounds like it to me from what Yoko says… very spoiled and pretentious.
    But good for her that she gets to stay home and have online sex while her husband is at work.
    Yes, we know…..

  • arvin8

    Thats funny. Almost all arguments that she defends about Japanese women are also the same arguments a religious Iranian women defends.

  • Ryo Ta

    dumbest person you interviewed Nobita. She doesn't know any better . She also doesn't talk statistically. She's just a defensive about her country.

  • Teon

    This is my favorite person you have ever interviewed. Very happy and content with who she is. The world would be good with more people like her

  • xjamira krystalx

    men are oppressed , there's female only : universities , scholarships , jobs , train cars , gyms , spaces , money grants , divorce settlements , alimony , child support and women can lie to the police about men and be believed 99% of the time. japanese women are not oppressed.

  • Brandon A. English

    One of the headlines says "Only 1 out of every 10 politicians is a woman," but so what? Are we really supposed to believe this crap that women and men are equally interested in everything and should be 50-50 in everything? Who dreamed of, planned, died for, and built what we have (infrastructure, laws and governments, transportation, products, etc)? I would be shocked to discover if women had directly been responsible for at least 10 percent of these things. If women haven't been and aren't largely interested in creating or running these things, then why do the extreme leftists in the media always try to convince us that they are or should be? Screw that nonsense. Men have been suffering and dying for thousands of years out of their desire to know what's over the next horizon, what's possible, and to protect what's theirs, as well as their families. They bleed and sacrifice to keep their families, friends, and countries safe, which is not something that most women would ever want to be a part of — but we as men don't expect them to because that's what WE do. Women by and large have different inclinations and desires which are much less ambitious or dangerous. A woman or a man are both welcome to pursue any place in society they wish, but forcing women (or men) into some stupid one-size-fits-all mold is nothing more than a recipe for societal destruction.

  • Hùng Nguyễn

    Personally, Yoko has some good points, but i don't agree with the rest of them. It's true that you can't define "sexual equality" by the exact percentage of women in any businesses you could find. If you think that way you are pushing women in something that they might not good at. For me, "sexually equality" is more likely that you, whether you are female or male, it doesn't matter, can do anything, any job as long as you prove that you are qualified enough, then you make your living from it, create values for this world. But the problem comes when Yoko said that "It's not like we can't do, but we don't want to". I really think that it's really bad if everyone would think this way, and the reality shows that there are a large growing number of Japanese women thinking different. Maybe in some cases, your husband does all the money things, and wants you to just quit your job, clean the house, cook for him, take care of your children. And with Yoko, it's totally fine, and she likes it. But those husbands are just in a minority of Japanese men nowadays. You can realize that by looking at the decreasing birth rate of Japan. The result? Japanese people get older, and their country hires labours of other countries. My country, Vietnam, is among those, and you know what? Japan and any country with the same problem don't like that, at all. Just think this way, if you get married in Japan, there are 2 options for you. 1st, you are a wife, then you have to stay at home, like Yoko, and let your husband be "the one and only money-making machine". In the 1st option, if you try to find a job, everyone will look down to your husband and think that he is such "a weak son of a b****" that can't afford his family' needs. Japaneses don't say that out loud, but they clearly think that in their heads, and it pisses your husband off even more because of that. 2nd, you are a husband, you probably have to get up early and come back home late almost everyday because of your overtime working. By "late", i mean "9-10-11pm late". That's your only way if you are an average husband and want to take an average care of your family. And guess who wants to enter into a bond of a strict, depressing, no-freetime life like that? No one. At this point, i agree with minister Shinzo Abe, so many problems should be solved if Japanese women just continue working after they get married. It's likely that: continue working–> you are more independent–> less working time for your husband–> you two have more time with each other–> "love bar" is fulfilled–> your family may have 1 or 2 childrens–> birth rate increases–> more Japanese labours–> no need to get helped by other countries–> minister Shinzo Abe and everyone in Japan live happily ever after. P/s: Sorry if my English sucks, there are so many things I want to say about Yoko's statement but i think it's already too long.

  • arpit kumar

    3:58. I really like that thinking. People talk about gender equality but at the same time they say things like "Women should get..", "Men should get..". The same is the case for other things like Secularism, Non-Discrimination, etc. If you truly think in a gender-neutral way then you wouldn't be talking on behalf of "Women" or "Men". You would be talking in terms of "Humans". We always try to give things a gender angle when most of the times it isn't necessary. Sometimes it is though.

    I think of this as the White Color. When you pass it through a prism it splits into a spectrum of colors. But in reality, they all represent the Color White when mixed together. It's just the way you see things. You can either choose to see the sunlight directly or you can see it after passing through a prism.

  • Fenimore FiIImore

    If females focus on their careers during their most fertile years (before the age of 30), the countries' birthrates go to shit. A country has to set priorities, which in the case of Japan, they certainly not involve a change of lifestyle that will affect its birthrates even more.

  • Quality Of Life With Andy

    Dont be like American feminist. Men will run away from feminist. Stay feminine and happy japanese ladies

  • Sylphina Undine

    Women working in America started durning the Women Revolution. Then is went to women being independent and doing things on their own. I personally would love to be a housewife.

  • 69

    Feminists: Men don‘t know the pain of housewives, it‘s sooo suffering

    Men: So how about you earn the money and i‘m taking care of the household?

    Feminists: ufuebdliswjwhjeidejj nah lol.

  • Clown Shogun

    Japan is full of simps so women are totally fine, Americans media see everywhere sexism gender gap sexism it's their job because make propaganda. Pay gap is a myth

  • TJ Fowler

    The left wing people from the US that say how women are oppressed in Japan and how they need to change are no different than the people who they accuse of trying to change other cultures or or using America Imperialism to push out other cultures..they are using 'American Imperialism' attitudes in a more indirect way because of their arrogance.

  • Lord Kaiser

    sry this woman is pretty selfish and ignorant. Expecting that the Man should work and earn money while she can stay at home is an awful attitude, guesss wat. Some men also want to.stay at home and spent time with the kids. in My Opinion both should equally work and spent equally time with their kids. Equalloty is not to forcing women to focus on career instead giving women the possible the choose between work an career without stigma form the soceiety. or even better bringing career and rsining kids together. Other countries get the idea and helping women to choose their ideal path. Now after i listen to Yoko i undertstand why japan is so behind in equality.

  • A K

    Foreigners don't understand Japanese have way more power, they get the husband's salary and give him an allowance. Plus full custody in divorce.

  • Amber OTL

    Sound's like she has it good. Here in America everyone thinks you need to work and take care of your home.
    Personally I rather be a single woman living on my own if that's the case because that would be too much for me. I don't handle stress well.
    If I were to marry someone and have a child (personally I only would want one) I would rather be a stay at home wife/mother and take care of my family. Doing chores, going to the grocery, cooking, making appointments, managing schedules, and communicating and bonding with my family, that is right up my alley.

  • Cleora Asaran

    I don't think she has met many conservative women if she thinks these women are….logical. I am still trying to have a decent conversation with a conservative without realizing they don't know what they are talking about or them not caring about anyone else but themselves.

  • R Martinez

    she is right, but I think she doesnt express well her self. She thinks woman should be at home blablabla because that how she was raise (that it is not bad), BUT some other females, are raise to be independent, to dont relieve in a man. THATS WHY some woman are offended when man pays for her meal, etc. Also japanese culture as anyother culture are different. I dont think japanese goverment try to make their culture like americans, also americans dont pu their culture first, she is misunderstanding Trumps idea. Trump puts america (himself) first like creating laws, or relations to other contries, but by that no other country want to make deals or relationship with it, and make his people suffer for thoese mistakes (impeachment). At the end are just ideas, but woman when they want they are independent when they dont they are fragile.

  • SilentG Swag

    Wow, I have yet to meet a girl like you in the U.S I once dated a girl and when I offered to pay she got mad at me and she ended up paying her own ticket to the movies. Then I realized she worked longer hours than I did I hated our relationship I had little time to see her I ended up breaking up with her she was more focused on work than anything so I let her focus on that then. It must be nice to come home to a Family

  • Vincent Valentine

    I like this woman and she seems intelligent but the reality at least in the US is that a lot of people can’t survive on a single income household with children. I’m not sure on how much guys are getting paid in Japan but if they can afford it and they want to support a woman and child then the US definitely shouldn’t try to tell them differently.

  • Rhoetus Ochten

    Is this a widely held view?
    If so, what is the purpose of getting a university degree, if it won't be used?
    Wouldn't that time and effort be better used doing something else?

  • Shotgun47

    I personally don't like Yoko at all. She doesn't want males and females to be seen equal just because she want to be continually spoiled: to not pay rent and not work. Plus I don't like her point of view that the male has to pay to show love , like money = love. Another materialistic gold digger. Man are hardworking and she is spoiled. That is not fair. I can understand when a woman has the hard work of taking care of their baby, but then man need to be spoiled too for they hard work at business. What I personally believe is that woman should be left with options freely at their own decisions to accept or not. Girls are different , there are woman that can do hard work like man and there are woman that just work different than man. Plus I want to mention that in any other countrys, woman are not as spoiled as Japanese woman so of course other girls are angry on Yoko. Just compare Arabian woman with Japanese woman. Would you have the same point of view if you where a Arabian woman Yoko? Be spoiled then.

  • Subsofa

    She does a horrible job of making an opposing argument.
    She just spent 8 minutes explaining that she didn't want to work, which is fine for her i suppose.
    She did not address women who are pressured to leave the workforce against their will, which is the entire point of the argument she was supposed to counter.
    Nobody cares about lazy people who does not want to work, the issue arises when people are forced to pick a certain path because of their gender and or other things they did not choose.

    Coming from Norway where the concept of housewives is completely eradicated i can tell you that there literally is no reason for women not to work just because they have children.
    For one the father actually gets to spend time with his kids as well as both parents having more time to spend together as a family.
    We also have double the potential workforce which is never a bad idea if your economy is doing bad.

  • James Clark

    Yoko is happy being a woman. There are so few that are just happy to be what they are. Its refreshing to hear such a logical perspective.

  • Diego S

    This was a very smart woman, I am impressed, y her she was logical, and gave a lot of good points in everything she said, she was impartial. This was great! Thanks Nobita!

  • A B.

    Well said Yoko.
    That whole victim mentality is a big pile of lie. Japanese women are doing very well in corporate/salarial environment. I see that everyday because I live and work in Japan. Women are treated the same and even better than most men. And they are payed the same at the same level of qualifications. It's contractual, it's the law. And in Japan, peoples can negotiate and re-negotiate their salaries without hurdle. That's common. Peoples who don't ask shouldn't complain.

  • Yuki PP

    I don't think these topic would concern much to women that just want to be at home and wants everything to be paid by a man, and actually don't to anything else by herself lol. This topic minds to someone to wants to do something more and have to fight with this kind of issues at work or politics or whevmrever everyday.

  • pedrotorreslp 999

    I love her attitude, women like her are more difficult to find in countries like Spain, Argentina or Canada where feminazis are pushing hard to brainwash the brain of many women.

  • Roman Gladiator

    Yoko is 100% correct! Feminism is a lie! Please Japan don’t be tricked it will destroy your amazing unique culture!

  • Rebecca GeekyGirl

    It's all about having a choice. My mom was a home stay mom while I was little and it was awesome to have her with me. Then, she went back to work when I was 12 and my sisters were 5 and 6 for economic reasons. I don't want to be a home stay mom, I cant imagine being happy living that life, but one of my sister does. I hope she can afford it when she has children.
    What upsets me is my Japanese female friends who want to keep working after having kids but they are bullied til they quit. That's just wrong.

  • Joe Canis

    She has a fresh common sense approach to life. I like Japan first. I would be disappointed if I visited Japan and it felt like California. The difference is what attracts tourists, a new experience. As long as we all treat each other with respect, tolerance, and understanding; we should all celebrate our uniqueness.

  • Arthur Danielles

    Women in Japan cannot be judged on the same level as those in the west. FACT. The vast majority of women are faced with being unemployed or have no choice but to work. Most male employees NOT I should add the bosses or upper management; have to work excessive hours for any hope of maintaining their own living to an acceptable level and always with the threat, the intimidation and bullying in the back ground from their bosses. It is the Japanese mentality that derives its origins from the boom and bust (recession) that hit Japan which made the employees fodder for the big companies and employers. Why if it is possible women will choose a rich male husband regardless of whether they have to put up with that persons attitudes, good, bad or indifferent treatment including domestic, mental abuse and worse. That working hours mentality destroys relationship (if ever started) and social interactions as the majority of workers are too tired to engage in such. Most live at home with their parents or in accomodation that is basic but then as they spend so little time there ? Its expensive and some riduclous renting rules and regulations such as upfront two months in advance free gift to the landlord payments / upfront 2 months in advance rent/ breakages -security deposit and more that can be like S Korea= up to a years rental equivalent in advance is not uncommon demands by landlords. Buying especially in areas such as central Tokyo is like Central London in the UK – beyond extrotion and well out of reach of all but the insanely rich in Tokyo. There are housing subsidised but locals have to have their names on a list that can change at whim. Thus married couples are few, a lot of Japanese girls DON'T want to get married, men want their freedom from responsibilities and their money what little they earn to spend on themselves and any partner would come second. So Yoko is no way in any real sense representative of the bulk of women let alone married women in Japan and that has to be noted or such is grossely misleading. I have always had respect for wives / housewives in the west – most of those who work and those who are few and far between who don't work but are stay at home housewives with kids work long and hard hours. But having kids is the responsibility of those who have them. Children in Japan are often brought up by their grand mothers et whilst the parents work. The same can be said of many other countries such as China, S Korea. So in conclusion take this video with as we would say, a pinch of salt; it has little or no real bearing on reality for the greatest number of married women or even single women bringing up kids.

  • TrytheGreenOne

    hmm, so she thinks as a politician she is just a genderless person, but as a worker there is strictly men and women ( and women get in the way )

  • Johnny J.

    well said! Japan doesn't have to cater and be another country! and if you're really not biased you would hire based on needed skills/experience/accomplishments for the job, not because of some identity.

  • BlazedKnifeBladez

    The mainstream media that criticizes 1st world countries for how they treat their women will often glorify 3rd world countries that treat women far worse.

    Makes you think they have an agenda to carry out…

  • R Proctor

    To each, their own culture. My own wife caught hell for wanting to stay home and be wife and mother. 23 years later we are still happily married with 2 kids in college, everyone that criticizes her is on the third marriage and in debt with loser addicted children. I smile all the way to the bank and get a hug and kiss when I walk in the door after work. Wife gets flowers ,gifts and anything else she desires, and she handles our finances. Beat that feminism.

  • Gordyrroy

    there's this one thing that should just be the norm. "Live and let live". When nobody gets hurt, everything's fine. That's the "let live" part. If people want to live in a household were the woman is at home and takes care of things there without having a job, that's totally fine. People should have the right to choose for themselves.

  • benny Salcedo

    It’s the liberal media propaganda….. (the fake news : CNN,ABC,CBS,NBC,BBC….and their brunches: NHK,Fuji,Asahi……). The media portray the USA as racist,homophobic,xenophobic,islamophobic….anti woman country…… Actually it’s the opposite….I am an immigrant in USA……I am telling you….America is the most compassionated,tolerant and kind country in the world…..so much that the white people is gonna be a minority in their own country in 50 years…..The immigration is the Trojan horse of the left……and also the transgender revolution.Japan survived ww2,Two atomic bombs and Fukushima……the economy was smashed …..but its culture was prevailed …..that’s why Japan recovered…..but without its culture….Japan is doom. As well as the USA ….. the Immigration,Islam,Immoral sex and drugs….will destroy Japan for ever.

  • d0k0night

    I just came to say that I really like Yoko. You can see the liveliness in her eyes when she talks and that's immensely attractive.

  • MGTOW Properties

    Honey you’re wrong the most spoiled people on earth are white American women And by the way 60% of them are fucking nuts

  • Laurent-Philippe

    Funny. From her personnal website "My one word is open-mind. The only attitude you need to learn from each other and respect one another".
    I've looked at her videos and I don't see that. She's easy at pointing finger and she deeply hold a grudge about liberals being the source of all ills.

  • Paul McCool

    I'm glad her life works for her, but women should be free to choose if they want to work or not, and should have the same opportunities as their male co-workers.

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